Foldable chandelier

ABSTRACT

A chandelier has arms which fold up for ease in shipping and storage. The hub portion, to which the arms are attached, consists of a cylindrical portion which is held by an upper and a lower shell. Each arm has two lugs, one of which engages a slot in the upper shell and an other which engages the lower shell when the upper and lower shell, with the cylindrical portion therebetween, are brought together to lock the arms to the hub.

United States Patent [19] Porter et al.

F OLDABLE CHANDELIER Inventors: David H. Porter, Fort Atkinson; Wayne Kemmerer, Jefferson; Douglas Bray, Fort Atkinson, all of Wis.

Thomas Industries Inc., Fort Atkinson, Wis.

Filed: Dec. 27, 1971 Appl. No.: 212,242

Assignee:

U.S. Cl ..240/7s F, 240/78 R int. Cl. ..H02g 3/20 Field of Search ..240/78 R, 78 F References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 4/1942 Elting ..240/78 R [4 1 May 22, 1973 1,668,772 5/1928 Kestell ..240/78 F Primary Examiner-Samuel S. Matthews Assistant ExaminerMichael Harris Att0rney-J0hn A. Dienner, Arthur C. .lohnson,.lohn

A. Dienner, Jr. et al.

{5 7] ABSTRACT 10 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Foldable arms employed in the construction of chandeliers are known. Such folding of the arms is desirable to conserve space and to reduce possible damage in handling and shipment. Chandeliers by their very nature are fragile, and with the arms extended they are bulky and difficult to store or ship.

Known forms of foldable chandeliers are complicated and require much careful handling in assembling to avoid damage in folding and unfolding the arms. Also, the appearance which they present is crude and inelegant, resembling more nearly the work of plumbers than that of interior decorators.

The nearest prior art known to applicants is British Pat. No. 677,546. It presents obvious structural and aesthetic deficiencies which are avoided in the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The chandelier construction here disclosed involves a hollow suspension stem to which is joined a symmetrical hollow globular body preferably, but not necessarily, a body of revolution consisting of three main parts constituting a hub member which cooperate with a hinge lug,and hook or latch lug,carried on the inner end of each of the hollow lamp arms, the cooperating hinge lug and latch lug being controlled by a closure member forming the bottom of the hollow ornamental body or hub member. The suspending stem and the lamp arms may be pre-wired as on partial assembly without danger of injury in folding or unfolding the arms, particularly since the hinge between the inner end of the am and the hub part, or ornamental body part, does not require to be released to permit folding of the arms. Normally each arm is held in extended locked position by the engagement of the hook or latch on the face of the arm member with the raising of the lower body cover member being locked, by the axial movement of the lower half of the ornamental central body, causing the entry of a flange into the grasp of the hook and at the same time raising the hinge member and the adjacent end of the arm to cover the slot.

OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION The chief object of the invention is to provide a readily foldable chandelier capable of embodying high artistic quality and employing mechanical structure which is simple and reliable.

A further object is to provide a combination hinge and latch arrangement connecting the inner end of the lamp arm with the hollow hub or ornamental body of the chandelier.

A further object is to provide a foldable connection between the hollow hub and the lamp arms which may be locked in either the folded position of the arms, or the unfolded position of the same.

A further object is to provide a chandelier structure capable of having the arms thereof folded adjacent the suspending stem with means for locking the arms to the hub in either raised or lowered position, and which permits latching of the arms in their lowered position by simple structure which is readily understood and easily operable by unskilled personnel.

A further object is to provide a foldable chandelier in which the mechanicalfeatures which provide foldability do not interfere with the possibility of achieving artistic appearance of the device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevation with parts broken away to reveal the operating parts of the preferred embodiment of our invention in assembled and unfolded form;

FIG. 2 is a similar side view illustrating the manner in which the arms may be folded up lengthwise of the suspending stem of the fixture;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1 with parts broken away to reveal the hinge connection between an arm and the hub member;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4 showing an end view of the inner end of the lamp arm carrying the hinge pin and the cooperating latch member;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary section on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of the parts shown in FIG. 4 with the latch hook member released and the arm swung counterclockwise upwardly into the position shown in FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The fixture of my invention is shown in side elevation in FIG. 1 with parts broken away to reveal the mechanical and electrical connections between the foldable parts. The chandelier as a whole is suspended from a ceiling hook or the like (not shown) as by an omamental chain 1 with which there is usually interwoven the supply wire of the electrical system, a branch of which, shown at 2, goes through each lamp arm 3 of the chandelier whereby the lamps (not shown), carried by the sockets 4, are supplied with current. The sockets 4 may be provided with fittings of known character such as a support 5 for a bobeche for supporting crystals (not shown).

The arm 3 herein shown may be constructed with a tubular wireway 6 (see FIGS. 1 and 6) consisting of a wrought metal tube upon which the external part of the cross section is formed as a casting. This gives a clear passageway for the conductors 2 and provides mechanical strength.

The hollow hub member 7 is connected to the suspending eye 8 by an internal conduit member 9 which extends down through the hub member 7 to provide gravity support for the various parts of the chandelier. A ring nut 11 threaded onto the conduit 9 supports the ornamental sheath or exterior between the ring support 8 and the hub member 7. The hub member 7 essentially comprises two cup-shaped or bell-shaped hub parts generally designated as the upper body cover 12 and the lower body cover 13, respectively, facing each other. The central conduit member- 9 extends down through the hub member 7 and, has an ornamental nut 14 threaded upon the lower end for carrying the weight of the body cover members constituting the hub and the connected lamp bracket arms 3. It also serves to hold the body cover parts 12 and 13 endwise towards each other against the interposed arm body 15, the cylindrical wall of which forms a part of the exterior of the hub member.

The means by which the arms 3 are connected to the hub portion 7 is shown on an enlarged scale in FIGS. 4 to 7 inclusive.

Referring first to the general views of FIGS. 1 and 2, the top cover member 12 has a rim or outer marginal portion which consists of a substantially radial rim portion 16 transverse to the longitudinal axis of the chandelier and an axially extending cylindrical rim or flange 17.

Radial slots 18-18 equal to the number of arms to be attached are cut in the periphery of the upper shell or body cover of the hub member. The inner end of each bracket arm 3 has an attaching face 20 shown in end elevation in FIG. 5. This end face 20 is substantially at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the wireway or opening through which the conductor extends to the lamp. On the face 20 above the opening to the wireway, there is a T-shaped lug 21, the top bar of the T-shaped lug 21 providing a hinge pin for hinging the arm 3 to the top body portion 12. At the lower end of the end face 20, diametrically across the wireway opening from the lug 21, we provide a hook shaped detent which is an integral lug extending at right angles from the face of the arm body 3.

An arm body 15 which has a circular disc-shaped central portion and a cylindrical rim portion 25 is interposed between the two parts of the hub portionnamely, the top body cover 12 and the bottom or lower body cover 13. The cylindrical portion of this body cover 15 is perforated with keyhole shaped openings 26, one for each arm.

The lower body cover 13 has a short radial flange 27 projecting outwardly and a longitudinally or axially extending cylindrical flange 28 on the outer margin of the lower body cover.

The arm body 15 is of an outer diameter which is the same as the outer diameter of the axially extending rim 17 of the upper body cover member 17. The downwardly extending cylindrical rim portion 25 of the body member 15 is also equal to the outwardly extending flange 27 of the lower body cover, and the inner diameter of the cylindrical part of the body member 15 is equal to the outer diameter of the axially extending flange 28 of the lower body cover member 13 so that the lower part of the cylindrical part of the arm body 15 telescopes with the endwise extending flange 28 of the lower body cover 13.

The assembly of the device is as follows. The central conduit member 9 has at its lower end a threaded portion which receives the nut 14 to pull together against ring nut 11 the body cover parts which make up the hub, together with the arm body 15 between them for the final assembly. The central conduit member 9 has one or more lateral openings 28a inside the arm body through which the electrical conductors may be extended and branched to the respective lamp arms 3. The central conduit 9 has a shoulder 29 which may be in the form of a threaded nut on the stem 9 to hold the arm body in position while the T-shaped lugs 22 of the respective lamp arms 3 are slipped into the slots 18 with the arm in a raised position, suitable to facilitate the entry of the Tshaped lug, which forms a hinge pin, into position as shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 6.

When the hinge lugs have been inserted in each of the slots in the upper body cover 7, the arm body is raised by first threading it over the lower end of the conduit extension 9 and moving the said lower body cover up against it to the position shown in FIGS. and 6 whereby the cylindrical flange 28 of the lower body cover 13 enters the cylindrical rim 25 of the arm body to support the same. Thereupon the arms 3 are swung down angularly on the hinge provided by the T-shaped lugs 21, 22 into the full line position shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. That is to say the hook shapedlug 23 rides up over the flange 28 (see the dotted line position of FIG. 4) and then drops down into the full line position shown in FIG. 4. Thereupon the nut 14 may be drawn up tighter to raise the lower body cover 13 with the downwardly facing hook lug 23 overhanging the axial flange 28 and forcing the hinge pin 22 up into the corner between the cylindrical flange and the radial flange at the rim of the upper body cover 7 (see FIG. 4). Thereby the two lugs on the face of the arm body 3 are locked in position with the lamp arms 3 also locked securely to the body cover member-s or upper and lower parts of the hub member 7. The arm body 15 fills the gap between the rims of the cover members 12 and 13 and blocks release of both lugs 21 and 23. The result is a chandelier which may be folded up as shown in FIG. 2 by releasing the nut 14 and the lower body cover and the arm body 15 and thereafter unfolded and the parts thereof fastened into the position shown in FIG. 1. The features which make the chandelier foldable are not obtrusive when the chandelier is properly displayed in unfolded condition.

We claim:

1. In combination in a chandelier, a stern, a hollow ornamental hub member adapted to be supported by said stem, said hub member comprising two cupshaped parts having rims facing towards each other, a plurality of tubular lamp arms each having an attaching end face with an opening extending from the end face into said arm, two detent members extending from the face, one above and one. below the opening in the end face, said detent members being engagable with the rims of said respective upper and lower hub member parts, and means for drawing said hub parts into engagement with said detent means to support said arm members on said hub member.

2. In a chandelier, a hollow stem carrying at its lower end a hollow ornamental body said body having a releasable bottom body portion, a plurality of lamp arms for mounting on the body, a hinge between each of the lamp arms and said hollow body, and a latch member between said lamp arms and the body below said hinges, electrical supply wires extending through the stem and leading into the hollow body portion, branch conductors connected to the supply wires and extending from the hollow body portion to and through the individual lamp arms, means operable upon release of said bottom body portion for releasing all of said latch members whereby the arms may be swung upwardly towards the stem to reduce the space occupied by the chandelier and a single tension member for holding the bottom body portion in latch engaging position.

3. In a chandelier a suspension stern including a conductor conduit, a hollow ornamental hub supported on the lower end of said stem said hub comprising cupshaped portions with rims facing toward each other, tubular lamp bracket arms adapted to radiate out from the hub and having attaching faces on the ends adjacent the hub, said attaching faces having central openings into the interiors of the arms, connecting hinge means extending from each of said faces above the conductor opening in the arm face, cooperating connecting means on the rims of the cup-shaped hub portions to hinge the arms to the hub portions and detent means on each lamp bracket arm face below the opening in the face engagable by the rim of the lower cup-shaped hub portion, and means holding said cup-shaped hub portions together in face-to-face relation.

4. In combination a hollow stem, a hollow hub member connected to and communicating with said hollow stem, said hub member comprising a cover member having an axially extending flange, there being hinge slots in said flange, an arm body, and a bottom hub member cooperating with the lower end of the stem for clamping the bottom part of the hub member against the arm body and holding the arm body against the cover member, lamp arms having transverse end faces for engaging the exterior of the cover member, the end face of each arm carrying a hinge part member and a latch member, said slots in the flange of the cover member being closed by the peripheral wall of the arm body when said arm body is raised into engagement with the slotted flange, the bottom hub member having a cylindrical flange fitting inside of the rim of the arm body and engageable with the latch member on the face of the lamp arm for preventing upward swinging movement of the lamp arm and having a radial flange for pressing the arm body against the lower edge of the slotted rim and means connected to the hollow stem for holding the parts of the hollow hub member and the arm body together in alignment.

5. In combination in a chandelier, a hollow suspension stem including a conduit for supply wires, a hollow hub member comprising an upper arm body cover member carried by said stem, a lower arm body cover member also carried by said stem, an arm body member having a cylindrical wall, said arm body member having said cylindrical wall engageable by the periphery of each of said cover members, lamp arms having hinge projections disposed between the upper body cover member and the arm body member, said lamp arms having latch projections disposed between the lower arm body cover, and the arm body member, and tension means connected to said conduit for releasably holding said top body cover member, said arm body member, and said lower arm body cover member together upon the lower end of said conduit.

6. A chandelier comprising the combination of a hollow supporting stem having mounting means at its upper end, said stem comprising a tubular conduit, an ornamental cover on said conduit, an annular shoulder on the conduit below said ornamental cover, an ornamental body mounted on the lower end of said conduit below said shoulder, said ornamental body comprising a top shell facing down and a matching bottom shell facing up and a drum shaped arm body clamped between said shells, said hollow stem having a conduit extending into the interior of said ornamental body and having an extension projecting through said arm body, and a nut threaded on the lower end of the stem for clamping said shells and said interposed arm body between them, said arm body comprising a cylindrical flange and an integral planar head, the upper omamental shell having a cylindrical axially extending flange at its rim there being a plurality of radial slots extending through the cylindrical flange and the adjacent rim of the upper shell, a plurality of lamp supporting arms having end faces at their inner ends adapted to engage the cylindrical flange of the arm body, and having T- shaped anchor lugs each with the stem thereof attached to and extending outwardly from the face of the lamp arm, each of said T-shaped anchor lugs having the stem thereof extending through the slot of the upper shell and the cross bar of said T-shaped lug being disposed transversely of the slot and on the inside of the flange of said upper shell, the lower shell having at its rim a radially extending flange underlying the cylindrical wall of the arm body and having an axially extending flange fitting within the cylindrical flange of the arm body, said nut and conduit extension holding the arm body over the ends of the slots in the flange of the top shell to hold the T-shapedlugs against separation from the top shell.

7. The combination of claim 6 wherein there is a lug extending from the face of each lamp arm, which lug has a detent at its outer end, said lug extending through an opening in the cylindrical wall of the arm body for engaging the axially extending flange of the lower shell when the lower shell is raised to bring the level of the axial flange thereof within the grasp of the detent on the lamp arm lug.

8. The combination of claim 6 wherein electrical conductors extend from the upper end of the conduit to the interior of the arm body, there being an opening in the conduit into the inside of the lower shell, said conductor continuing through an opening in the cylindrical portion of the arm body into the connected lamp arm.

9. The combination of claim 6 wherein lowering of the lower ornamental shell to disengage the axially extending cylindrical flange from the detent of the lamp arm permits the lamp arm to be swung upwardly towards the supporting conduit by the hinge constituted by the T-shaped lug on the face of the lamp arm and the cooperating slot in the rim of the upper shell, the outer peripheral part of the arm body preventing disengagement of the T-shaped lug from the corresponding slot in the rim of the upper shell.

10. In a lighting fixture a hollow ornamental body comprising a bell-shaped top portion adapted to have the open side face downwardly, said body having a generally conical wall having a rim terminating in an axially extending cylindrical flange, there being substantially equally spaced radial slots formed in said flange and rim to provide attachment for bracket arms, a plurality of hollow tubular bracket arms each terminating in an attaching face and having at the upper edge of the face a T-shaped hinge extension projecting from the upper portion of said face, the lower portion of the face having an extension in the form of a downwardly opening hook, an arm body member having a circular plate portion with a substantially cylindrical rim portion, said plate portion being joined to said rim portion by a relatively sharp circular corner, a hollow bell-shaped bottom body portion having its mouth facing upwardly and terminating in a cylindrical rim which fits inside the said arm body member, said bottom body portion having a circumferential shoulder extending radially outwardly, disposed below said rim and being adapted to engage the cylindrical rim of said arm body member and to move it upwardly to a point adjacent the stem of the T-shaped hinge extension of the bracket arm member, tension means acting between the central parts of said bell-shaped top portion and said bellshaped bottom portion to draw them towards each other, said bottom portion having a cylindrical rim extending axially and being disposed between the cylindrical rim of the arm body member and the hook member when the bottom body portion is drawn towards the top body portion,and centrally disposed means for drawing said top and bottom body portions toward each other to clamp the T-shaped extension and the hook-shaped extension to the respective bell-shaped body portions. 

1. In combination in a chandelier, a stem, a hollow ornamental hub member adapted to be supported by said stem, said hub member comprising two cup-shaped parts having rims facing towards each other, a plurality of tubular lamp arms each having an attaching end face with an opening extending from the end face into said arm, two detent members extending from the face, one above and one below the opening in the end face, said detent members being engagable with the rims of said respective upper and lower hub member parts, and means for drawing said hub parts into engagement with said detent means to support said arm members on said hub member.
 2. In a chandelier, a hollow stem carrying at its lower end a hollow ornamental body said body having a releasable bottom body portion, a plurality of lamp arms for mounting on the body, a hinge between each of the lamp arms and said hollow body, and a latch member between said lamp arms and the body below said hinges, electrical supply wires extending through the stem and leading into the hollow body portion, branch conductors connected to the supply wires and extending from the hollow body portion to and through the individual lamp arms, means operable upon release of said bottom body portion for releasing all of said latch members whereby the arms may be swung upwardly towards the stem to reduce the space occupied by the chandelier and a single tension member for holding the bottom body portion in latch engaging position.
 3. In a chandelier a suspension stem including a conductor conduit, a hollow ornamental hub supported on the lower end of said stem said hub comprising cup-shaped portions with rims facing toward each other, tubular lamp bracket arms adapted to radiate out from the hub and having attaching faces on the ends adjacent the hub, said attaching faces having central openings into the interiors of the arms, connecting hinge means extending from each of said faces above the conductor opening in the arm face, cooperating connecting means on the rims of the cup-shaped hub portions to hinge the arms to the hub portions and detent means on each lamp bracket arm face below the opening in the face engagable by the rim of the lower cup-shaped hub portion, and means holding said cup-shaped hub portions together in face-to-face relation.
 4. In combination a hollow stem, a hollow hub member connected to and communicating with said hollow stem, said hub member comprising a cover member having an axially extending flange, there being hinge slots in said flange, an arm body, and a bottom hub member cooperating with the lower end of the stem for clamping the bottom part of the hub member against the arm body and holding the arm body against the cover member, lamp arms having transverse end faces for engaging the exterior of the cover member, the end face of each arm carrying a hinge part member and a latch member, said slots in the flange of the cover member being closed by the peripheral wall of the arm body when said arm body is raised into engagement with the slotted flange, the bottom hub member having a cylindrical flange fitting inside of the rim of the arm body and engageable with the latch member on the face of the lamp arm for preventing upward swinging movement of the lamp arm and having a radial flange for pressing the arm body against the lower edge of the slotted rim and means connected to the hollow stem for holding the parts of the hollow hub member and the arm body together in alignment.
 5. In combination in a chandelier, a hollow suspension stem including a conduit for supply wires, a hollow hub member comprising an upper arm body cover member carried by said stem, a lower arm body cover member also carried by said stem, an arm body member having a cylindrical wall, said arm body member having said cylindrical wall engageable by the periphery of each of said cover members, lamp arms having hinge projections disposed between the upper body cover member and the arm body memBer, said lamp arms having latch projections disposed between the lower arm body cover, and the arm body member, and tension means connected to said conduit for releasably holding said top body cover member, said arm body member, and said lower arm body cover member together upon the lower end of said conduit.
 6. A chandelier comprising the combination of a hollow supporting stem having mounting means at its upper end, said stem comprising a tubular conduit, an ornamental cover on said conduit, an annular shoulder on the conduit below said ornamental cover, an ornamental body mounted on the lower end of said conduit below said shoulder, said ornamental body comprising a top shell facing down and a matching bottom shell facing up and a drum shaped arm body clamped between said shells, said hollow stem having a conduit extending into the interior of said ornamental body and having an extension projecting through said arm body, and a nut threaded on the lower end of the stem for clamping said shells and said interposed arm body between them, said arm body comprising a cylindrical flange and an integral planar head, the upper ornamental shell having a cylindrical axially extending flange at its rim there being a plurality of radial slots extending through the cylindrical flange and the adjacent rim of the upper shell, a plurality of lamp supporting arms having end faces at their inner ends adapted to engage the cylindrical flange of the arm body, and having T-shaped anchor lugs each with the stem thereof attached to and extending outwardly from the face of the lamp arm, each of said T-shaped anchor lugs having the stem thereof extending through the slot of the upper shell and the cross bar of said T-shaped lug being disposed transversely of the slot and on the inside of the flange of said upper shell, the lower shell having at its rim a radially extending flange underlying the cylindrical wall of the arm body and having an axially extending flange fitting within the cylindrical flange of the arm body, said nut and conduit extension holding the arm body over the ends of the slots in the flange of the top shell to hold the T-shaped lugs against separation from the top shell.
 7. The combination of claim 6 wherein there is a lug extending from the face of each lamp arm, which lug has a detent at its outer end, said lug extending through an opening in the cylindrical wall of the arm body for engaging the axially extending flange of the lower shell when the lower shell is raised to bring the level of the axial flange thereof within the grasp of the detent on the lamp arm lug.
 8. The combination of claim 6 wherein electrical conductors extend from the upper end of the conduit to the interior of the arm body, there being an opening in the conduit into the inside of the lower shell, said conductor continuing through an opening in the cylindrical portion of the arm body into the connected lamp arm.
 9. The combination of claim 6 wherein lowering of the lower ornamental shell to disengage the axially extending cylindrical flange from the detent of the lamp arm permits the lamp arm to be swung upwardly towards the supporting conduit by the hinge constituted by the T-shaped lug on the face of the lamp arm and the cooperating slot in the rim of the upper shell, the outer peripheral part of the arm body preventing disengagement of the T-shaped lug from the corresponding slot in the rim of the upper shell.
 10. In a lighting fixture a hollow ornamental body comprising a bell-shaped top portion adapted to have the open side face downwardly, said body having a generally conical wall having a rim terminating in an axially extending cylindrical flange, there being substantially equally spaced radial slots formed in said flange and rim to provide attachment for bracket arms, a plurality of hollow tubular bracket arms each terminating in an attaching face and having at the upper edge of the face a T-shaped hinge extension projecting from the upper portion of said face, the Lower portion of the face having an extension in the form of a downwardly opening hook, an arm body member having a circular plate portion with a substantially cylindrical rim portion, said plate portion being joined to said rim portion by a relatively sharp circular corner, a hollow bell-shaped bottom body portion having its mouth facing upwardly and terminating in a cylindrical rim which fits inside the said arm body member, said bottom body portion having a circumferential shoulder extending radially outwardly, disposed below said rim and being adapted to engage the cylindrical rim of said arm body member and to move it upwardly to a point adjacent the stem of the T-shaped hinge extension of the bracket arm member, tension means acting between the central parts of said bell-shaped top portion and said bell-shaped bottom portion to draw them towards each other, said bottom portion having a cylindrical rim extending axially and being disposed between the cylindrical rim of the arm body member and the hook member when the bottom body portion is drawn towards the top body portion,and centrally disposed means for drawing said top and bottom body portions toward each other to clamp the T-shaped extension and the hook-shaped extension to the respective bell-shaped body portions. 